When we found out the girls summer
would extend by two weeks,
we knew we wanted one last trip to the bay area!
First stop,
The Ferry Market Building for a first:
Raw Oysters!
I've got to tell you,
I'm not a fan!
I won't write them off altogether though...
next we'll have to try them grilled...
It wasn't a total waste though,
it's not often you can gross out
every single one of your kids at the same time!
Trekking to Chinatown we found some great pocket parks!
Another welcome sight?
All the yummy restauants!
This time we tried dim-sum...
a first for us all!
Sesame balls...
...a favorite of you-know-who!
After lunch we wandered throughout the city in search of
It's a teeny tiny factory that you're allowed to step in (literally)
and see how the cookies are made!
I can't undertand a word they say,
but they love kids and are generous with samples!
Check out the architecture of this park!
Love it!
What Samuel and I loved about this place was the
great sense of community.
There were tons of folks out
visiting, laughing, and playing games.
It was a sight to see a park really...jumping!
I had read great things about this Buena Vista Park,
which was described as a kind of urban hiking oasis
near the Haight & Ashbury district.
The park is basically a huge tree-covered hill/mountain
with paths that literally twist and turn all over the face!
There were dogs galore (plus their owners),
so we got plenty of petting in!
But the best surprise of all,
and what put a serious slow down on our exploring,
was the blackberry bushes!
They were everywhere!
Plus huge yellow spiders so we
had to be careful!
But still...
B L A C K B E R R I E S !
I love them.
Can you tell?
Ah ha!
What do we spy!
Another hill!
This one made of...dirt?
Book mark that for next time.
Whereas we're in a jungle,
that is a naked hill, my friend.
The views have got to be incredible over there!
Of course,
Buena Vista Park wouldn't be much of a park,
at least in our kids opinions,
if it didn't have a play area.
We searched and searched for it,
when finally, just as we were leaving
-and I mean, we were driving away!-
we found it!
The downside,
this is a park you do not want to go to alone.
Or after dark.
Or without a man.
Or without mean karate skills.
There are, let's just say, a number of questionable characters about...
...
Let me reiterate:
The park is amazing!
Go visit it-but keep your peeps peeled!
...
No one ever actually entered the park area,
but Samuel and I kept our spidey-senses on...
Well,
I did anyway...
Maybe he's doing reconaissance from an arial perspective...?
A girl after my own heart!
I LOVE to eat and read!
...
And what is she eating, you may ask...
Yummy french bread, salami, cheeses, sweet nectarines...
In other words,
a signature San Francisco picnic!
And that picnic would not be complete
without a treat just for mom and dad:
F R E S H G R E E N C H I L I G O A T C H E V R E
One of many wickedly delicious concoctions from
The Cowgirl Creamery!
And on a green olive loaf no less!
B R E A D + C H E E S E
H E A V E N !
{And yes, there is such a place...}
Still at it...
Iris,
learning the hard way that the baby swings are for...
B A B I E S !
By the way,
I spared you the plumbers crack that peeked out moments later...
We made it out alive!
{Just kidding...}
But since it was freezing outside we did a quick drive-by of
our next stop:
Alamo Square!
All in the name of catching a glimpse of the famous
Painted Ladies!
{You remember, from Full House!}
They are delightful,
but perhaps not so much as...
B O B ' S D O N U T ' S ! ? !
Yup,
sugar-filled puffs of goodness win hands down!
What can trump donuts, you say?
The temple, of course!
Especially our beloved Oakland Temple...
Truly the place where our family began!
...
In a nutshell,
this was a great trip!
It was everything we want for our kids...
teaching them principles of traveling on a dime,
taking advantage of the unexpected,
being adventurous (but also cautious),
and the importance of spending time with that
funky group of people that happen to be your lot/blessing in life!
